


Unspoken

by mystiri1



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou
Genre: Community: fic_promptly, Holding Hands, M/M, Paranormal Abilities
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-04
Updated: 2011-03-04
Packaged: 2017-10-16 02:13:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/167319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mystiri1/pseuds/mystiri1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some things don't need to be heard to be understood.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unspoken

**Author's Note:**

  * For [paperwar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperwar/gifts).



Natsume stands in the centre of the clearing, holding a conversation that, to Tanuma, sounds one-sided. Except that he can see the spirits Natsume is talking to - kind of, little flickers of shadows and light and movement where there should be none, ill-defined shapes in the afternoon sun.

The pang of envy he feels is stronger than ever before. He was thrilled when he discovered that Natsume could see spirits too, but the first time he realised just how much clearer they were to Natsume - every bit as real and solid as the world everybody else - he was envious, the small glimpses he had seeming hardly sufficient in the face of such wonders just out of reach. It's not a feeling he was particularly proud of even then, and he has a better idea now just how much trouble Natsume's gifts had caused him in the past, would do anything to make it just a little bit easier for him because Natsume is the kind of person who deserves that. It's not just his ability to see spirits that make his friend special, as far as Tanuma is concerned.

But this envy is not just for what he can't see. He listens to Natsume laugh in response to something he can't hear, and feels envy for the parts of Natsume's life that he'll only ever be able to touch the edges of, a jealousy that seems wildly inappropriate under the circumstances.

Natsume glances back over his shoulder, and some trace of it must have shown in Tanuma's face, because he says something before leaving his conversation and returning to join Tanuma on the fallen log where he waits.

"You can't hear them, can you?" Natsume asks, and something in his tone stops the question from being hurtful.

"No," Tanuma says simply in reply. He thinks he has his face schooled to a more acceptable (less revealing) expression.

Natsume hums thoughtfully. "Close your eyes."

"What?"

Natsume's hand covers his where it rests on moist wood, and Tanuma is too focused on that to really register what he's saying at first. "Maybe you're just trying for too much at once. But if you close your eyes, then perhaps you'll hear them." Almost as an afterthought, he adds, "This lot are rather... noisy."

Tanuma blinks. It seems logical enough - giving up one sense to boost another, assuming that their eyes and ears really have anything to do with it. So he closes his eyes and tries to focus on something other than the warm feel of Natsume's hand on his.

At first it's just the rustle of leaves in the breeze, and then it becomes clearer. Most of it is barely audible, whispers on the edge of his hearing, but one conversation becomes distinct enough for him to understand it. It's nothing special: two spirits are arguing over possession of something - an acorn? - and he tries to guess what sort of spirits they might be, but the truth is it doesn't really matter. He opens his eyes to smile at Natsume, and Natsume smiles back, easy and open and genuinely happy... for _him_.

The argument almost instantly fades from his hearing, but Tanuma doesn't care. He lets his hand shift under Natsume's grip, lets the palm turn upward, and his breath catches just a little as he feels fingers curl lightly into his own. The momentary flash of envy is forgotten, as irrelevant and insignificant as he always knew it was. It doesn't matter that he can no longer hear anything but the wind in the trees and his own breathing.

Tanuma already knows that when he thinks back on today, it won't be the whispers he heard that stick in his memory, but the warm weight of Natsume's hand in his.


End file.
